Here is the only story I'm writing by myself that could be called a full-fledged novel. It's really big now, so enjoy! It's an alternate history story, a sub-genre of sci-fi, about the Civil War going differently. I confess, I was inspired by author Harry Turtledove, but I try not to copy his ideas at all, and I think I've managed to pull it off. I copied and pasted this here, so I hope I did it correctly. I do regular updates, so expect more...lots more. The story has gotten better as it goes along. Anyway, like I said, enjoy and tell me what you think!

CHAPTER 1

July 2, 1863

"Forward...At the double quick...March!"

At those words, the Confererate attack on Little Round Top, a hill near Taneytown Road, south of Gettysburg, began. At the top of the hill, Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and a few others awaited them. This was the key moment of the battle, and the name of the hill would become legendary.

The Confederate troops sprinted up the hill. It was an intimidating sight. The infamous "Rebel Yell," the last thing any Union soldier wanted to hear, rang loud and clear through the forest.

Chamberlain looked through his binoculars at the advancing Confederate lines, "They look tough, don't they?" he asked a nearby soldier.

"I hope so. If we falter, chances are high that we'll lose this battle," said Chamberlain.

The Confederates we're getting close, and the time to open fire was nigh. "Come on, boys! For Jackson!" yelled the Rebel standard-bearer, reminding the army of the great, late General Stonewall Jackson.

The Confederates smashed through the woods toward the Union troops. Even though the Union unleashed a punishing barrage of bullets, the Rebels' morale got them to the top. The Confederates ripped through the Unioners with a vicious hatred. The cry "Down with Northern tyranny!" was heard often. After a long while of intense hand-to-hand fighting, Chamberlain, wounded twice, ordered a retreat.

The Confederates won other key locations elsewhere on the battlefield, and on July 4th, the Battle of Gettysburg was over. The world would never be the same.

After Gettysburg, one Union loss followed another. Abraham Lincoln, whose health was quickly deteriorating, was becoming horribly unpopular with the American people. Gettysburg and its results plauged the Lincoln administration.

After the they witnessed the Confederates, in Pennsylvania , of all places, beat the industrial, numerically superior North, Great Britain and Napoleon III's France officially recognized the CSA as a sovereign country, and, as an allied one. France offered military assistance in return for Confederate help in crushing Mexican outlaws. After France was defeated in Europe and Mexico became independant, however, the CSA seized large chunks of Mexico, which formed three new states: Tyler, Baja, and Jackson. In the north, the British mobilized their Canadian forces and took over some of the North's territories and occupied the state of Vermont.

Realizing the Union's predicament, General Robert Edward Lee marched his forces from Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, to Washington, DC, just 100 miles away.

On June 1st, 1864, a fleet of British and Confederate ships blockaded the Eastern seaboard, stopping all shipments of goods from pro-Union countries such as Prussia and the Germanies, from reaching their destination.

On June 10th, General Lee's forces arrived. After weeks of lobbing shells into Washington, Anglo-Confederate forces finally broke through Union defences.

"Very well, my boy," responded Lee, "I'll be out promptly," Lee looked at himself in the full-length mirror. He noticed that his hair and beard had gone completely white. His eyes were weak-looking and his expression was careworn. "Surely, this war has taken its toll on me," Lee thought.

"Yessir! May I ask you something?" the soldier interupted Lee's thinking.

"Yes, of course."

"Is...this the end of t'all? I mean...have we...won? Are we independent, sir? For good?" the soldier asked.

"I hope so, soldier, I really do. I don't know what the future holds, but I would say it's safe to say we have victory," Lee answered with a smile.

"Safe to say?!" boomed a loud voice, "Why, we licked them blue-bellies right good!"

"Ah, General Pickett," Lee said cheerily as his friend entered the tent, "Good to see you."

"Yes, you are to accompany me to the White House peace talk," Lee explained while picking up his favorite hat from his desk, "I trust you are happy."

"Yes, sir! I can't wait t' see the expression on the faces of all the folks back home when we tell 'em we beat Mistah Lincoln," said Pickett while placing a massive cigar in his mouth.

"Right then," said Lee, "Let us go, gentlemen."

The men walked outside to see dozens of soldiers dashing about, readying the artillery in case of a Yankee mob attack. In the past two days, three militias of half-starved, poorly-equipped civilians had made desperate attempts to break the siege. It was of no avail, however, as they were akin to target practice for the Confederate sharpshooters.

"General Lee! General Lee!" cried a large red-headed man in a scarlet coat, "I say, it is my supreme delight to meet you, sir! I am General Andrew MacPherson, of Her Majesty's Highlanders, at your service," he introduced himself while removing his pith helmet and bowing.

"Good morning, General," replied Lee, "It's a pleasure to see the Queen's best giving us assistance. The Confederacy appreciates it greatly."

"Oh, bubbles and squeak and all that rot, what, what! I assure you, that it is OUR great pleasure to work alongside you, the greatest military mind since Napoleon, or I prefer to say, Wellington," the hyperactive Scot laughed at, though no one else did, his own joke, "Lee's Infantry Tactics is being read by all the young men in Britain's military acadamies."

Another officer, General Pedro Ramirez, walked up and saluted Lee. He wore an elaborate, slightly outdated uniform and bicorne, "Saludos, Senor Lee."

"Hello, Major Ramirez," Lee saluted back.

"Indeed," said Pickett, "Please forgive that little 'accident' that happened in that skirmish last week."

Ramirez laughed, "Negativa, senor. It was not your fault. We were in battle and that would make anyone confused. You were doing fine directing the Brazilian Brigade, until you confused the Spanish words for 'right' and 'left.' De cualquier manera, senor, I have recieved orders to act as the negotiator of Brazil during our meeting with Senor Lincoln."

"Very well, Major," Lee began, "I wish for you to inform the Emperor of my gratefulness for his help in the war. Without your people and the British, we wouldn't be here today."

"Gracias, senor! I will do so. Viva la victory!"

Two Confederate cavalry troopers were nearby, listening to the conversation, "I'll be danged if'n I ever figure out what that thar furiner is goin' on about," said the first.

"I dunno," answered the first, "I'll just be glad when this war's over and all of them furiners go back to where they belong. Why, I heard tell that in North Caroliney, they have a whole regeement made upa Dagoes!"

Lee, Ramirez, and the others marched into D.C. under the protection of a battalion of Virginian infantry. MacPherson chose a different route, hoping to find and confiscate the last of the Union ammo. The city had surrendered, but there were still firefights going on against stubborn Yankee troops.

Lee and his men arrived at the White House without too much problem. The building, compared to the others in the besieged capital, was in very good condition. Blue-coated soldiers stood out front, nervously watching the Confederates.

"Well, gentlemen, we wait until MacPherson and his men get here, and then we go inside," said Lee.

An hour passed, and MacPherson had still not arrived.

General Pickett fidgeted with his cigar. He and everyone else were eager to sign the treaty.

"Patience, men," said Lee, "We've waited almost 4 years, we can wait a few minutes."

Lee smiled, "Yes, I doubt it could be anyone else. Hear the bagpipes?"

"And see their kilts?" chuckled Pickett, "I've heard that song before. James MacPherson himself wrote it in prison. Anyway, I'm glad they're here, and we can finally commence to beatin' Mistah Lincoln, or should I say 'King Abraham III'."

"Oh what is death but parting breath

On mony a bludy plain

I've daur'd his face and in his place

I scorn him yet again

Tak aff this bands from aff this hands

And bring to me my sword

There's nae a man in a' Scotland

But I'll brave him at a word!"

"Hallo, chaps!" shouted MacPherson as he rode up on his horse, "I hope I didn't delay the jolly good show too long did I? By the way, old chaps, I captured the last of the Yanks' ammo. A chap named Custer was refusing to surrender, so he caused quite a bloomin' barney when we asked him to, and he told us to go sod off, or what were his exact words...oh, yes: 'Go jump in the Potomac.' We told him if he didn't get out of the armoury we'd give him quite the bloody shiner. He didn't listen though, so we went in after the geezer. He was gobsmacked! We took custody of him, and he's locked up in that carriage."

Pickett had to keep himself from laughing at MacPherson's language. It was as if the Anglo-Scot thought that it was normal to speak that way.

"Uh, yes, uh, of course," stammered Lee.

Once at the door of the White House, a soldier escorted Lee, Pickett, Ramirez, MacPherson, and a few other officers of the three armies to the President's office. The room itself was cluttered, with maps and plans strewn all over. Lee noticed one map pinned to the wall that seemed to show Russian Alaska with words like "Impossible!" and "Too expensive!" written all over it. Lee quickly turned his attention to an approaching Union general.

"Hello, General Lee," said the man, "I wish to apologize on behalf of my men. I told them that the war was over and that they were to cooperate with you, but some did not follow my orders."

"I understand, General Grant, and I admire their fighting spirit," Lee answered. He then turned around and removed his hat, "Good day, Mr. President."

Lincoln looked hardly presidential, however, since he was balding and what hair he had was growing white from stress. His suit was wrinkled and stained, he seemed extremely tired, and his body looked very fragile. "Good? You call this day 'Good?' This, Lee, is a black page in the glorious history of America. The day our country is officially torn in two. Good day? I think not," he said depressedly.

"I apologize, Mr. President. I was only trying to be polite," said Lee earnestly.

"Please," Lincoln waved his hand, "General Lee, you may dismiss with your 'Kentucky Colonelism.' Come now, let me see your treaty," Lincoln reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of eyeglasses. Lee handed Lincoln a scroll which the president started reading.

"Well, gentlemen," said Lincoln, "I see you expect me to let Britain keep Vermont. I wouldn't count on that."

"Sir," said MacPherson, "We will let Americans move into and out of Vermont whenever they please."

"I still won't accept," said Lincoln bluntly, "If I allow you to keep your section of the Montana Territory, will you relinquish your claim to Vermont?"

Lincoln scratched his bearded chin, "Very well, there aren't very many settlers there anyway, and if it saves Vermont, I agree."

"Jolly decent of you, Mr. President. I am sure the Queen will like the deal."

Lincoln continued reading, "Eh, what is this? '...And that the Church of Latter-Day Saints will be given the so-called region of Deseret as their own.' What is the idea?"

Lee rose out of his chair, "The Mormons have faced intense persecution in the States, so we realized that giving them their own country would be wise. It would keep them out of our hair, and us out of their's."

"Lee, I refuse. I will not allow them to have any such thing. Besides, 'Deseret,' or Utah-Nevada, was never seceeded or occupied."

"Mr. Lincoln," Lee started pacing back and forth, "We fear total insurrection in Deseret. I know how they feel, but I'm afraid they might use different tactics."

"Such as?"

"Terror. Pure and simple. They don't have enough men at the moment to have a full army, so they would likely resort to using explosives to blow up anything in sight. I do not wish to see more bloodshed on this continent. Please reconsider, Mr. President."

Lincoln sat back in his chair and rubbed his hands together, thinking. After about three minutes, he gave his answer: "No. I will not allow the Mormons to run willy-nilly in the American West. The West is vital, and I won't lose it. You can't force me to give it up, since it has nothing to do with the war, and neither can the whole Nauvoo Legion. If they attempt insurrection, we'll send in the troops. The South may have won, but only because you had nine million people and the support of allied countries, and the Mormons have neither. No, sir, I won't give it up. Never."

"Are you sure?" asked Pickett as he picked up a map of Deseret.

"Positive. Now, let's discuss other matters. For instance, this paragraph here that says the Union must pay 4 million to Brazil," Lincoln looked at Ramirez skeptically.

"Si, Senor Presidente," said Ramirez, "Union ships stole over two million dollars worth of cargo. Another one million is due from the raid on Port Fortaleza. And another million for other damages."

"Why should I pay you, may I ask?"

"Because if you don't, the Brazilian fleet will embargo the United States and collect payment by privateering 4 million dollars," Ramirez said simply.

'Oh. Well, I guess I don't have a choice. Very well."

"Jmuchas gracias, Senor Presidente, your choice is wise."

Lincoln looked down at the paper again...

CHAPTER 4

"Well," started Lincoln after letting out a long sigh, "Your terms seem agreeable, so I accept them."

As Lincoln busied himself signing the treaty, MacPherson walked over to Lee and took out an envelope. Lincoln saw the French markings and a "top secret" stamp on it. As if that was not suspicious enough, MacPherson was talking so quietly that only Lee could hear it.

Lee took the envelope from MacPherson, and said, "This is not my area. However, the envelope will be presented to President Davis."

Lincoln watched Lee give the note to a nearby officer. He heard Lee tell the soldier to take it to the HMS Titan, anchored in the Potomac, which would then depart for Richmond.

"Who knows what is in that envelope," thought Lincoln, "But my guess is that it includes an alliance with France and probably a plan for dividing up South America. Likely a plan for the defeat of Prussia, Napoleon's number one rival, is included. If so, I can say good-bye to Prussia as an ally, which would mean any strong country could invade the United States unimpeded. That envelope must be stolen so we can see what they're up to," Lincoln motioned for Grant to send someone to follow the message-bearer.

After the signing of the treaty, Federal agents were sent to follow the messenger going to Richmond. It turned out that the HMS Titan was a new British luxury steamboat, capable of quickly getting the envelope to its destination.

There were three agents sent after the messenger. The Leader was an Indiana-born gun-fighter named Joseph Franklin. The second was a Bavarian assassin named Otto Hoffman. The third was a rake from Philadelphia, William Jones, who carried a jewel-studded cane-gun. His top hat and handlebar moustache earned him the nickname "City Slicker."

Franklin soon spotted the messenger going up the boarding ramp, "Quick, everyone follow me!" commanded Franklin. They used a stack of crates as makeshift stairs to get on to the deck. "Remember, the action is over, so there'll be Reb tourists on board, so watch out, and try to stay inconspicuous. And I'm talking to you, City Slicker."

Jones grinned, "I'll do my best, I assure you."

"And stay away from the women! Remember Quebec? When you messed up the mission by staying around that, uh, what's her name?"

"Oh, you do? Well, if we let that message get through, you'll be seeing lots of Frenchies. Male Frenchies. Armed male Frenchies."

"Oh."

Franklin continued, "And do NOT challenge anyone to a duel! 'Cause even if you win, people will start asking questions about you, and considering the way you talk and dress, people will have no problem telling that you're a Federal spy from Philly!"

"You Indiana folk have no understanding of chivalry!" Jones said, while twirling his cain, "But, I shall do as you ask."

"Remember, if you mess up I'll keelhaul you right here," Franklin said ruthlessly while grabbing Jones's collar.

"Actually, sir, I beg your pardon, but this is in fact, a flat-bottomed riverboat, so you cannot technically, uh, well...um, keelhaul me...because there..." Franklin's face turned red as fire and the blood vessels on his forehead started popping, "I'm, uh, just, well, saying that, um...this is rather awkward."

"Oh, yeah, I'll keelhaul you all right. It'll be so keelhauly you won't be able to believe it!" Franklin stated once again.

"Sir, first, 'keelhauly' is not a word, or at least, it isn't in the Britannica. Second, I mean...did you listen to nothing I just said? Fine, I'll say it again: we are on a flat-bottomed riverboat, and it is physically impossible to keelhaul someone on a flat-bottomed riverboat."

"One...more...word and," Franklin pulled out his pistol and cocked it, "You'll be able to say 'hello' to Mister Bullet!"

"All right," interrupted Otto, "Let's carry out this mission and stop squabbling. Who knows where our target is now. We won't be able to just plug him in the head. We have to kill him as silently as possible," he looked around and saw a schedule of all the daily events onboard, "Look, it says 'banquet and general conversation: nine o'clock.' Maybe we could get to him then. I have a tube of poison in my pack, so maybe we could ask him to have a 'drink' with us."

Jim nodded, "My granddaddy, Arthur Richardson, he drilled it inta me. He always preached about the evils of alchohol at our church in Alabama. He used to say: 'When the Devil's servant, rum, get's its hands on you, it'll rot your body, your mind, and your immortal soul!' Boy, he could preach! Why, Jonathan Edwards' hellfire and brimstone sermons would find it difficult to win more converts than my granddaddy. I mean, he was the best dang preacher you ever did hear!"

"Yes, I'm sure. Uh, see you later," Franklin turned around, "Oh, yeah, I'll see you later...sprawled out dead on the floor..."

"What's that, buddy?"

"Oh, nothing, uh...good-bye," Franklin adjusted his derby hat and straightened his coat. He thought he was doing a good job looking inconspicuous.

And then he saw Jones dancing in front of a large crowd. Franklin could not believe it, "What...the...h-"

"-And of course," Jones loud talking silenced the swear, "I will now be doing a dance I learned from a family of nomads, on the Russian Steppes," he then commenced to perform a wild, stomping dance, during which he crouched down while slamming his heels against the ground. It was a spectacle of epic proportions.

"I'm going to kill him!" Franklin said angrily to himself while yanking Jones by the sleeve. The crowd disspersed, and things once again became quiet.

"Jones, I'm going to physically harm you."

"Why?"

"Because you made a spectacle of yourself and pronounced our presence!"

Otto saundered over to the bickering duo and whispered, "I saw our target have a porter send his luggage to his room. Maybe...he has the envelope in one of his suitcases."

Franklin immediately payed attention, "Ah! Yes, we should get up there and see if the envelope is in the luggage. Bill, is your cane loaded?"

The three agents walked briskly up the stairs to the hotel section of the ship. To their great dismay, an armed soldier patroled the halls.

"What're we going to do?" Otto asked nervously.

Franklin poked his head around the corner, "There is a lantern above his head...I'll throw a knife at the twine holding it in place, and it'll take care of him," Franklin took out a throwing knife, aimed carefully, and threw. The lantern shattered on the guard's head, knocking him senseless, "Hurry up and stomp out the fire and tie him up in the closet.

After gagging and locking the guard up, Otto said, "I heard him tell the porter to take the luggage to room 15."

The trio went to room 15's door, and after Jones picked the lock, they ransacked the room. They were in the process of inspecting a trunk when Franklin noticed a that the trunk was too shallow inside compared to the way it looked huge outside, "Hey! I bet this here is a secret compartment! Yep, it looks like it is!" Franklin pryed the bottom out of the trunk and saw that it was, in fact, a false bottom. And there it was: the envelope with French markings.

"Now listen carefully, because I don't want to repeat myself," started Bill, "This has been a fantastic masquerade, and Shakespeare himself could not have written a better adventure! And, just like a play, we have reached the final act, and soon, the curtain is to be lowered. Remember earlier, when you said that I spent too much time with Marie, that French-Canadian? Well, she was actually a Frenchwoman from Louisiana. That is right, she was a spy like me."

"You...y-you are a double agent?" stammered the shocked Franklin.

"Uh, yes. Did it take you that long to catch on? You might also say next, 'Why Billy, you are from Philly!' Well, here is your answer: My family, citizens of the good state of North Carolina, moved to Philly so my father could teach at a school. Right after they moved there, I was born. So, you might say that I'm a Southerner who was born in the North. Anyhow, when the war began, I decided that I should help the Confederate cause to the best of my ability. I joined Intelligence and began to secretly spy on spys. I began to mess everything up for the North. But I did it so no one would become suspicious. Like, for example, when one of my former teamates(Lord rest his soul), was shot while spying in Brazil. I tipped the Brazilians off, acted horrified when I saw his corpse, and collected some small, useless information on Brazil so the US would't say I wasn't doing my job. So, ya'll just hand me that envelope. And don't look at me like that, you know you would have done the same thing."

In the blink of an eye, Franklin tossed the envelope to Otto, and tackled Bill. Otto jumped out the window, and onto a patio below.

Finally, Bill shoved Franklin to the floor, "Sorry, Joe. I'm just doing my job." At that, he aimed his cain at Franklin's head and squeezed the trigger. Bill took the revolver from the dead man's pocket, "Lucky thing," Bill thought, "This cane can only fire a single shot.

Readying the gun, Bill also jumped through the window to track down Otto. Bill's cane shot was not really heard, since all of the passengers were in the dining room far below, listening to a very loud military band, which made gunshots very hard to distinguish from drums.

Otto, meanwhile, found himself going through an open window into a small storage room. To his great dismay, the exit was locked and he heard Bill's footsteps fast approaching. Otto ducked behind a crate as Bill climbed through the window, "Bill, why didn't you just kill us earlier? Why the masquerade?"

"'Cause, Otto, while the Union focuses on that envelope, another French envelope has been going to a Confederate post near DC, which will then send it deep into Confederate territory. What you have is just a decoy. I just needed to subvert the Union long enough for the real envelope to safely reach Confederate territory."

Suddenly, Otto leaped up and smashed down the locked exit door. He ran out of the room and into the hallway. Bill ran close behind, sprinting as fast as he could. Otto suddenly entered a side room. It was a kitchen with many servants inside, which would make it hard for Bill to use his pistol without risk of hurting a fellow Confederate. Pushing aside startled cooks, he reached over to a pot of boiling water, and flung it in Bill's direction. It didn't fly far enough to burn him, but Bill did find himself sliding, slipping, and falling onto the floor. But, Bill got up again, and the chase continued. Otto quickly grabbed a steak knife from a nearby table and threw it at Bill's head. It knicked the side of his face and blood violently splurted out

Confederate guards, hearing the commotion, stormed into the room. Otto grabbed onto a chandelier and used it to crash into the horde of soldiers. Quickly getting up, he jumped completely over a three-foot tall crate, as Bill suddenly started spraying bullets everywhere.

Otto raced to a nearby door, opened it, and found himself in an empty room, which offered almost no protection. Panicking, he flung himself at a window. Shattering into thousands a sharp shards, the window severely cut him. He was now on another outdoor patio, just like at the beginning of the chase, and there were more guards joining in on the chase. He could hear rifle bullets hit the ground directly behind him. Smashing down another door, he entered yet another room. It appeared to be the batheing facilites. Since he ducked behind a long tub curtain, the oncoming guards failed to see him and raced past. When their backs were turned, he pulled out his almost empty six-shooter and fired three shots into them. Jumping over their bodies, he continued on.

Suddenly, he was at a dead end and his bullets were gone. But then, he noticed a ladder which led up to the deck. Scrambling up the ladder at top speed was not fast enough, however, as the ladder was too long. Bill and the guards aimed and fired, riddling Otto's body with bullets. Otto let out an agonized scream, held onto the ladder for a moment, and then fell dead onto the floor ten feet below.

The final action of the Civil War was over, and a Confederate-French alliance was assured.

CHAPTER 6

On August 1st, a formal Confederate-French alliance was completed. Unlike what Lincoln thought, the alliance did not provide for an invasion of Prussia, but it did provide for an alliance with Brazil and the dividing up of South America. However, Napoleon III's plans for that continent were to wait until the CSA finished stabilizing their new country.

Meanwhile, in the Union, things were rapidly declining. In the West, the Mormons were coming close to uprising. Back East, riots were becoming more and more common. Marshal law had been declared in DC because of violent protests following the end of the war.

It was during this period, that a radical party, the American People's Party, arrived on the political scene. The party was the brainchild of Noah Webster Gordon, a former army officer. Gordon had blamed the Union's defeat on the blacks, Jews, and abolitionists. He said that the whole war could have been averted if theabolitionists had not gained power.

The American People's Party demonstrated their strength on August 30th, 1864. With tens of thousands of listeners present, Gordon gave a speech in DC.

"My fellow countrymen! My fellow sufferers! My friends! Are you angry at your government? Are you angry at your current administration? I know you are! The days we have been suffering through since the signing of the disgraceful treaty with the gray ogres have not gone quickly. For months, our fair republic has been rotting and decaying at the hands of Lincoln and his thug, Hamlin! These months are our country's darkest hours! I tell you now, that this is the worst time in American history since Valley Forge. But! Just as Washington and his men came out of their tribulations stronger, so too, we will come out stronger! America shall rise again! We will wake up and realize that our current path through history is unsustainable!"

"For score and eight years ago, our forefathers brought into being our Grand Republic, hoping that future generations would take care of it and make it grow. Manifest Destiny they called it. Well, this sure does not look like Manifest Destiny to me! Does it to you?"

"Let me tell you something: I know what has destroyed America. It's those negra-loving abolitionists and Jews! And let us not forget the evolutionists, vomiting their lies everywhere they go! If Lincoln had not listened to those groups, and had shut them up, we might still be one country!"

"Let me tell you something else: I know what will fix America. The American people, and their party, your party, my party, must rise up and reclaim the Republic!"

"Now, some of you might know that I am from Virginia, born there in 1825, and think that makes me a gray-back. Yes, I was born in Virginia, I am from Virginia, but my heart and soul belongs to the Union! This is my country! Your country! Our country!"

"Now, as most of you probably already figured out, I am going to run for president. I will run for, and win, the office of president of the United States. I will kick Lincoln out of the White House with the help of my vice president, a great American and faithful Union man, Ambrose E. Burnside! A man who fought his hardest for the country."

"After we are elected, we will repair America. This country's best days are nigh at hand! But I also tell you, that America cannot be restored to its former glory by speeches and songs; it can only be revived through blood and iron! Farewell, my countrymen! Remember to vote for the Gordon-Burnside ticket on November 8th! I will bring the good old days back and make even those better! I am America and America is me!"

CHAPTER 7

Suddenly, the American economy fell flat on its face. After France and Britain sold the South industrial equipment, the world started purchasing not only lots of its cotton from the CSA, but also some of its other goods. Without any market to sell its poorer-quality products, the Union entered a terrible recession. As expected, Lincoln's chances of re-election went from completely unlikely to impossible.

On November 8th, Gordon carried twenty of the twenty-four states and also won a huge victory in the electoral college, despite the fact that some said he was a dangerous character.

Following the election of Noah Webster Gordon as the seventeenth president of the United States, the Mormons in Deseret became irate. When the president-elect took office four months later, the Mormons, under Brigham Young, declared total separation from the US and announced their sovereignty as the Mormon Republic of Deseret. The Mormon leader said that he and his country wished no conflict, and would not become violent, unless the US provoked them.

A Washington newspaper reported that "President Gordon is angrier than heck," and also stated that "We are confident that our new president will be able to handle the crisis and will not allow further breakdown of our beloved Union."

On February 20th, Gordon ordered the state militias to provide 20,000 soldiers "to suppress, by force, if necessary, the Mormon usurpers." He also wrote in a letter to George McClellan that "The Union will command respect once again, once the world witnesses the way we will crush the nascent Smithites. We will merrily march west and replicate Hannibal's adventure in Cannae. The West is vital. We must not lose it. If the Union was to further dissolve, my administration and and our country would become a laughing stock. I am prepared to do anything to save the Union."

When 20,000 US troops marched west from Council Bluffs, Iowa on June 4th, 1865, after diplomacy failed, the Deseret government raised an unexpectedly large army which numbered in the thousands. The Confederacy, somewhat sympathetic, and also spotting yet another way to stick it to the Union, provided a few officers and sold no small amount of guns to Deseret.

Outraged, Gordon declared war on Deseret. He immediately put General George Armstrong Custer at the head of an invasion army. Custer had devised a plan to march to the Great Salt Lake and capture Salt Lake City by moving west through US territory and then practicing his latest tactic, what he called "lightning war," by striking out of Fort Bridger and overrunning the Mormon army through heavy use of mounted forces to make rapid advances over vast distances and end the war as quickly as possible.

However, a strange disease swept through his ranks and he was forced to rest his troops at Fort Bridger longer than he originally intended. Seeing Custer's dilemma, the Mormons prepared different ways to ruin the invasion.

On September 10th, the first of these ways occured. Mormon skirmishers started harassing the supply wagons. Unknowingly marching into a trap and hoping to save the much-needed supplies, and, of course, hog the glory for himself, General "Fighting Joe" Hooker, who was rushed to join Custer the month before, ordered his troops to engage the Mormons in what became known as the "Battle of Bloody Desert.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Hooker directed half of his 1000 men to attack about 100 Mormon skirmishers. By ten, fewer than 200 of the original 500 remained. The skirmishers knew the terrain like the back of their hands. However, things soon got even worse for Hooker. While half of his forces were getting picked-off by skirmishers, his reserves were suddenly attacked on the right flank by about 700 Mormon regulars.

Earlier, Hooker had arrogantly claimed to Custer that "I can wup 'em with 500 men, and destroy 'em with a 1000. While I'm doing that, we should use their attack to our advantage and move the rest of the army forward." Because of this, the main army was too far ahead to provide Hooker with the reinforcements that he turned out to desperately need.

Soon after the Mormon regulars attacked, Hooker, mounted on a large charger, tried to spur his men to victory by riding to the front. But at 10:10, a Mormon bullet shattered his skull, instantly killing him.

Disorganized and leaderless, the Union troops attempted a calm retreat. But, when the bayonet-equipped Mormons charged the rear, panic set in. The Mormons chased them for eight miles, further raising the casualty count. By noon, Hooker's 1000 men were reduced to a few hundred exhausted, defeated stragglers.

When Custer learned of the event, it was almost two in the afternoon. Turning around, defeating the entire purpose of Hooker's self-sacrificial rear guard action, he found around 600 federal corpses, already thoroughly looted of supplies and weapons by the now encouraged Mormon troops. Upon seeing the battlefield, Custer gazed down at Hooker's body and said only four words about the battle: "This is a disaster."

However, Custer refused to be slowed. Continuing on at only a slightly more cautious pace, for fear of breaking the momentum of his "lightning war," Custer decided to immediately push on ahead to Ogden, very close to Salt Lake City. When he arrived, however, the Mormons used some of their Confederate-supplied artillery to absolutely bombard the federal infantry. Over 600 men died storming the Mormon cannon positions and another 400 in other fighting. Just when it looked like the Mormon guns would never cease firing, the 7th New York National Guard, combined with the forces of the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry; the "Black Hat Brigade" of much reknown, charged the center of the Mormon army and made gaping holes which were never filled. Faced with utter annihilation, the Mormons fell back and retreated to Salt Lake City, there to await Custer's final push.

On August 5th, Custer finished setting up seige equipment, and began the long process of starving the city into surrender. The pitched battles were over. The cost: 5000 federal troops died of battle, exhaustion, or disease.

CHAPTER 8

Meanwhile, the Confederacy was very busy. Without US laws prohibiting the importation of new slaves, the French and Spanish governments allowed the CSA slave colonies underneath French Morocco at incredibly cheap prices. Britain, being completely anti-slavery, protested, but to no avail.

On September 1st, the Confederate government saw yet another chance to make their new nation more respected by sending missionaries, adventurers, and a few troops into the unclaimed Congo. In later years, the mission would result in the Confederate Congo becoming a full-fledged colony.

But, back in the US, Gordon was fuming about the recent Confederate purchases and demanded that France and Spain take the territories back. What resulted was the famous "Crisis of '65." On September 15th, five days after Gordon's demands, Napoleon III's troops surrounded the US embassy in Paris. In Spain an American was shot in Madrid for spying.

In Washington, the people cried out for war against France and Spain, which Gordon realized would be a war of national suicide. After two weeks, the soldiers finally agreed to leave the embassy under the condition that the bankrupt United States keep out of French-Spanish-Confederate affairs. Gordon's cabinet warned him that if he did not accept the demand, it could result in a global conflict; global conflict that the fragile United States likely would not survive. Grudgingly, he accepted.

CHAPTER 9

In Europe, things were getting out of control. Word had spread everywhere of the successfulness of the Confederate rebellion. Soon, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania were in full-fledged civil war against their master, Abd Al-Aziz, the 32nd sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The sultan's armies promptly invaded the rebellious territories. However, unfortunately for the Turks, the people of Europe sent in supplies to help rebels, because they saw it as their chance to finally push the Turks back to Istanbul, or as some stubborn Orthodox still called it, Constantinople.

On October 1st, an entire force of Akinci and Armatoloi was sent into Bulgaria and was attacked by a large force of rebels. After four days of non-stop fighting, the Turks retreated back to the Empire with their tails tucked between their legs. The battle became nicknamed the "Bulgarian Gettysburg," and yielded a similar result: international recognition. Franz Josef of Austria invaded Turk-occupied Serbia and Montenegro and agreed to send large forces further south, especially to Albania, in which he hoped to gain a puppet state.

Tsar Alexander II of Russia, meanwhile, sent 15,000 Russian soldiers across the border into Romania to help their fellow Slavs "be free." Obviously, however, Alexander wanted to expand the borders of the Motherland.

When Prussia heard of the war, Wilhelm refused to become involved, although, some said he was secretly giving weapons to the rebels.

America, both the United and Confederate States, chipped in. A huge number of weapons were sold, particularly from the Union, whose coffers got some much needed money from gun sales.

France actually joined its Austro-Hungarian counterparts and declared war on Turkey. Napoleon III sent a fleet and blockaded the Turkish coast, thereby limiting the means by which the Ottoman Empire's forces could send reinforcements to the Balkans.

Britain, stayed completely out of the conflict because it did not want to offend Austria-Hungary or France and wished to avoid bringing conflict to British Egypt. The Turks, remembering the glory days of the Turko-British alliance during the Crimean War against Russia in the 1850's, were dissapointed that Britain was not a little more supportive of them. Finally, Britain brought the fueding countries together on December 22nd, at the Congress of London. It was resolved that Albania, Bulgaria and Romania should be granted independence, or the Turks would be forced to grant it by combined Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and French armies, with likely help from Italy, who were being wary of getting to comfortable with Austria-Hungary. These forces would likely not only liberate the Balkans, but also march into Anatolia itself. Frightened and exhausted, the Turks agreed. They knew that their forces were eccentric and outdated and would not stand a chance against a modern Euro-Balkan army.

Russia, however, was infuriated and upset about how Austria-Hungary refused to pull out of Serbia and Montenegro, which it had "liberated" at the beginning of the conflict. However, the other countries realized that Russia wanted the Austrians to pull out only so they could invade themselves, so they offered little sympathy and left the kinder-hearted Austrians in charge. Russia considered attacking Austria-Hungary, but wisely accepted the newly-enlarged empire after Britain said that they would enforce the terms of the treaty to the letter, which would mean a repeat of the Crimean War.

Also resolved at the Congress of London, were numerous German territorial disputes. Needless to say, Prussia came out on top, annexing many small German regions.

Thus, peace was brought back to Europe. But things were just getting heated in the Americas...

CHAPTER 10

In Paraguay, the dictator Fransico Lopez had declared war on Argentina and Brazil on May 1st, in a war of territorial expansion. Fuming, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay decided to work together to defeat Lopez. The CSA was drawn in later, on November 5th. Seeing his chance, Napoleon III invaded Paraguay by moving through allied Brazil. On December 31st, French bands struck up the Marseillaise as they raised the tri-color over the Paraguayan capitol building. Lopez was executed the following day, on January 1st, 1866. Napoleon sent over many more troops and firmly established his control over French Paraguay.

On October 1st, Salt Lake City surrendered to Custer. By then, he had lost over 5500 men. However, the Mormons soon became guerrilas. On October 20th, Brigham Young was captured and executed for high treason.

Back east, Gordon was grabbing up more and more power. His latest move caused some stir; he founded the "Congressional Commitee on Un-patriotic Activities," or the "CCUA," which severely limited freedom of speech.

Another thing he did that some said was outrageous was the formation of the "Presidential Guard Regiment," which people soon compared to the 1700's French Royal Swiss Guards and Spanish Walloon Guards. People said it was dictatorial, scandalous, and un-American, especially since Gordon was the only man who could give orders to the Guards.

CHAPTER 11The year 1866 was welcomed by the world, hoping it would be more peaceful than '64 and '65. For a while, it looked as if their hopes might come true-- the first month-and-a-half was uneventful, and as the London Times put it, "It looks as if we will all settle back down into the peace of 1815." However, it was not to last, for a radical change was coming to the US.

LOCATION: White House

TIME: 8:00 A.M.

President Gordon looked at the papers on his desk. Everything was going as he wished. Today, February 22nd, was George Washington's birthday. Today was the day of Operation: Clean House, an operation Gordon had been scheming up for the past year.

Someone knocked on the door, "Mr. President?"

"McClellan? Come in," Gordon said, never looking up. He was intensely focused on his papers and plans.

McClellan walked in, removed his hat, and saluted, "Mr. President, I trust you are having a pleasant morning?" he greeted while pulling up a chair. McClellan, a devout Democrat, had been in on Gordon's plans from the beginning.

''Yes, very pleasant," answered Gordon while studying a map with a magnifying glass, "Are the Presidential Guards ready?"

McClellan poured himself a glass of bourbon from a bottle sitting on the desk, "Oh, yes! Absolutely ready, sir!"

Gordon finally looked up, "And Webb?"

McClellan swished the beverage around in the glass, "Uh, yes, sir. Webb has the story ready for the printing presses."

"Good," Gordon scratched his beard thoughtfully, "Remember, what we do must not be mistaken for treason in any way. The public must be behind us 100%. If everything goes as we planned, by the end of the day, you will be the commander of the military, and both of us will have much more power. Here, load my pistol while I get my jacket," he ordered calmly while he reached for his gear. As he attached his belt, he took his sword down off the wall and attached his belt. Gordon was only in his forties and made an intimidating sight in his battle regalia. He and McClellan rode in a carriage to the Congress building.

Gordon opened the carriage door and put his foot down in the mud. He swore; he hated getting his boots muddy. Once he was out, McClellan followed suit.

"Well, McClellan? Where are the Guards?" Gordon asked angrily and impatiently. Athough, you would likely be impatient too, if you were about to overthrow your government.

Mclellan pointed his gloved hand down the street, "Right over there, sir," as McClellan spoke, the Guards were rapidly coming down the road, forming a line in front of the president and general. They looked resplendant in their navy blue jackets and green pants and shakos.

As the men lined up, Gordon started quoting Lucanus on a similar event in Roman history: "How swiftly Caesar had surmounted the icey Alps and in his mind conceived immense upheavals and coming war. When he reached the water of the little Rubicon, clearly to the leader appeared a mighty image of his country in distress; grief in her face, her white hair streaming from her tower-crowned head. With tresses torn and shoulders bare, she stood before him and sighing, said: 'Where further do you march? Where do you take my standards warriors? If lawfully you come, if as citizens, this far only is allowed.' And trembling struck the leader's limbs, his hair grew stiff, and weakness checked his progress, holding his feet at the river's edge. At last he speaks, 'Oh, thunderer, surveying great Rome's walls from the Tarpeian rock. Oh, Phrygian, house gods of Iulus, clan and mysteries of Quirinus who was carried off to heaven. Oh, Jupiter of Latium, seated in lofty Alba and hearths of Vesta. Oh, Rome, equal to the highest deity, favor my plans. Not with impious weapons do I pursue you. Here am I, Caesar, conqueror of land and sea, your own own soldier everywhere, now too if I am permitted. The man who makes me your enemy, it is he will be the guilty one.' Then he broke the barriers of war and through the swollen river swiftly took his standards. When Caesar reached the opposite bank, from Hesparia's forbiddden fields he took his stand and said; "Here, I abandoned peace and desicrated law. Fortune, it is you I follow. Farewell to treaties. From now on, war is our judge.' "

With drums beating and banners waving, the Guards of Gordon battered down the mighty oaken doors of the old order. And, drawing his sword of American iron, Gordon shouted, "For your country, for your president!" How the very bones of the representatives were shaken when the American Caesar's warriors marched into the House. And imagine how the politicians felt when the grand leader told them that they were under arrest for desicrating the Grand Republic. Tempers flared, men shouted, fists were flying. But to no avail; the American Caesar would not be slowed. One of the representatives, before being cuffed in chains of iron, a prisoner of his own president, quoting one who had died long ago, he cried, "Oh Liberty! Liberty! What crimes are commited in thy name!" How the politicians disgusted the American Caesar. How they infuriated him!

History will never forget when he took off his hat and, smiling, told his legion that they had saved their country from falling into dust. Then, stern-faced, he spoke, "How very far I have come. How long I have waited. Very like Caesar, I have crossed my Rubicon! Here am I, Gordon, conqueror, peace-maker, and saviour. Verily, I have brought peace and saved our dear country by being a conqueror, a warrior! I hereby swear that I shall make my Washington the envy of the known world. People will come from the far corners of the globe to see her mighty granite walls, her paved roads, and her golden monuments to conquerors past. Oh, Washington, equal to the highest deity of the highest heaven, bring me triumph over thine enemies!"

_________________LEGO Builder, Writer, Video-Gamer, Greaser, History Professor, Swordsman, and Military Collector. I am the Most Interesting Man in the World. :p

Last edited by Napoleon on Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:12 pm, edited 3 times in total.

After Gordon's coup, the "Webb" he and McClellan were talking about distributed a one-sided story of the events to the press. Webb, a reporter, had been bribed to give out the story, stating, "The president stomped out Confederate and European spies from the House. The Senate, made up of mostly recently elected Democrats and American People's Partiers, seems to be fine. The president is also warning about Republicans in other offices, like mayors and governors. He also says that any extreme powers he uses are for the good of the country."

Unsurprisingly, there were many outcryings against Gordon's actions. A group of army officers was arrested for plotting to overthrow the government. In Indiana and Illinois, there was a roundup of politicians who supposedly threatened to join the CSA. Twelve were hanged for treason on March 12th. Swearing to "stomp out nascent rabble-rousers," Gordon executed five more by the end of the month. He did not even need to purge the Senate; after the spectacle in the House, the Senate voted with Gordon out of fear every time.

Down in the Confederacy, however, the people were happy. In February, a group of veterans had formed the North American Baseball League. Baseball, formerly known as batball, had mysterious origins. Some said it was invented as a Masonic ritual and some said a Union officer named Abner Doubleday invented it, although he denied it. Whatever it's origins, before long, it was being played on both sides of the Mason and Dixon Line.

The rest of the year was flying by. Gordon had instituted new laws suppressing anti-government sentiment. Also, Mormon extremists started sabotaging Union trains and supplies. The rest of the world was at peace, except in the Middle East, where an alliance of Muslim Indians and Persians declared war on the Ottoman Empire, in an attempt to deter the Turks from trying to regain their former size by invading Persia.

On October 1st, the North American Baseball League held their first championship game. During the final week of the season, it looked as if the Confederate Montgomery Millers were to play against the Confederate Raleigh Rangers. But, somehow, the Rangers found themselves defeated at the last minute by the Philadelphia Yankees. Thus, fuel was added to the fires of the two nations' bitter animosity of each other.

On October 1st, the Millers traveled to Philadelphia Stadium. The fans almost became violent when the Southerners entered into the stadium. Gordon himself was there, and decided to turn the game into a military spectacle. Over 8,000 troops of the newly improved Grand Army of the Republic paraded in front of the stadium in a massive tribute to the president.

During the second half of 1st of 10 innings, the Millers hit a home run driving in three runs. In the second inning, they drove in two more. The Northerners hopes soon sunk when, in the 3rd inning, the score was 6-0. Suddenly, in the 4th inning, Yankee catcher Johann van der Waals hit a two run homer. The player that followed, 3rd baseman Randy Smith, hit a three run home run to revive the Northern hopes of victory.

With the score 6-5 in the 5th inning, the crowd looked on eagerly. The 6th inning was scoreless. The 7th inning was scoreless. In the 8th, the Yankees hit yet another run in.

The score was 6-6 in the 9th inning. The Millers almost hit a two run home run, but an outfielder named Jonathan Jackson made a spectacular catch, leaping over three feet to catch the ball with his bare hand. Rallying, the Yankees offense went to work, crushing several over the fence to make the final score 6-9.

The North went wild with national pride, and the Confederates went back acoss the border in disbelief. Sports experts couldn't give a logical answer for the Yankees' pounding of the Millers.

President Gordon was completely happy with the team's performance, starting the standing ovation. Later, the president threw his derby hat into the air leaving the stadium, which people loved as a sign that the president was a commoner. No one knew it at the time, but a secret service agent went and retrieved the hat.

Fast forward three years...

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

In the past three years, things had changed. Jefferson Davis, who, according to the Confederate Constitution, could only serve one six-year term, served his term and was replaced by the aging Robert E. Lee as president and J.E.B. Stuart as vice president. The South entered a period of dramatic growth under Lee. However, the North, still under Gordon, was also improving. Some said that almost all of the federal funds went to building up the Grand Army and purchasing new railroad and telegraph equipment.

As the South continued improving industrial areas, the Union Railroad Company started a race with their Confederate counterparts to build a trans-continental railroad. The railroad was completed in 1869 when Confederate construction workers met their comrades from the west in New Mexico. One week later, the Union railroaders completed their work, narrowly losing the race.

By 1870, it looked like Victorian peace would remain. However, in Europe, things were about to change, and not in a good way.

The conflict was a culmination of years of tension between the two nations of France and Prussia which finally came to a head over the issue of a Hohenzollern candidate for the vacant Spanish throne, following the deposition of Isabella II in 1868. The public release of the Ems Dispatch, which played up alleged insults between Wilhelm I and the French ambassador, inflamed the public of both France and Prussia. France mobilized, and on 19 July declared war on Prussia only, but the other German states quickly joined on Prussia's side.

The war shocked many people, but others recognized it as the inevitable conflict to break up the post-1815 peace in Europe. Napoleon III begged his allies to join him. Robert E. Lee refused to drag his country to war, but what happened next took him out of the equation. Growing old and frail, Lee came down with pneumonia by the end of July and died two weeks later. J.E.B. Stuart soon became the third president of the Confederate States of America. More friendly with Napoleon III, Stuart soon convinced the CSA congress to declare war with Prussia in the second week of September.

Soon, Brazil followed Napoleon's example, followed by Spain, Austria-Hungary, Romania, Greece, and Belgium.

However, Prussia was not short of allies, either. Baden piled into the Prussian bandwagon, and was joined by Bavaria and Wurttemburg. Italy, wanting to be completely free of the influence of a rejuvenated Austria-Hungary, signed a formal alliance with Prussia and the North German Confederation. In October, Denmark announced hostilities with Catholic France. It signed a formal alliance with Sweden, thus forming the Greater Norden Rike. The Dutch, liking Prussia as a Deutch brother, but at the same time having a good relationship with the CSA, remained neutral, along with Switzerland and others.

Russia's position remained volatile. The czar had no love for Prussia, but knew that the expenses of war might provoke peasant uprisings. Also, it did not want to repeat a costly war with France, and thus repeating the disaster that was the Crimean War. It remained neutral...for now. But as the old saying goes, "Russia is like a bear; it's slow to get started, but once it does start moving, watch out."

The first battle occured on September 1st, on the Prussian side of the border. Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) launched his forces into the city of Kaiserslautern, a Bavarian city. Successful there, Napoleon turned his attention to Ludwigshafen. A seemingly unstoppable force, he marched north to under-manned Mainz. There, the Germans unleashed the awesome power of the Krupp guns, their giant cannons. Despite numerous determined assaults by French infantry divisions, the cannons fired all day, giving time for Prussian forces, under the command of Helmuth von Moltke, to advance and attack the main French force. Having no choice, Napoleon turned his forces south and headed back to Kaiserslautern, leaving Mainz and Ludwigshafen to the now advancing German forces.

Much to Napoleon's relief, the Spanish Expeditionary Force landed in Monte Carlo and began their march north, although some boarded the French railways and were at the front in days.

With cries of "Vive le empereur!" the reinforced French started the invasion of the Germanies again, launching joint Franco-Spanish attacks in the Drive to Frankfurt in the fall. After intense fighting, Frankfurt fell.

The Germans were not about to quit. Wurttemburger troops reinforced the Prussian-Bavarian forces and launched a counter-attack to liberate Frankfurt. This opened the Frankfurt Front, where both sides dug in and were determined to hold and/or drive off enemy forces. By January 1st, 1871, over 110,000 men had been killed.

The slaughter continued when the first batch of Italian troops launched an attack over the Alps into Austria-Hungary. In the last two decades, things had gone from Austrian soldiers in Italy, to Italian soldiers in Austria. Combined with the pressures from Prussians above them and Bavarians to the west, Austria-Hungary started to crack. With his royal advisors begging him to sign a treaty, Franz Joseph agreed to accept his current borders and withdrew from the conflict. Some even said that he was considering back-stabbing France and joining his fellow Germans.

Meanwhile, the South was shipping goods into Calai. President Stuart said it would be a while before actual military aid, most likely guns, ammunition, and officers, would reach Europe. By February 1st, the first Confederate officers and a small amount of men arrived in Europe.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jake Lee looked nervously about the port city of Calais. The South wanted to remain isolated, but was not about to abandon France, one of the nation's whose trade and ammunition had helped liberate them from Northern tyranny. Jake did not like it, though. Why was the South sending even a small force across the Atlantic? It was only a few years after the Second War for Independence, as some called it, and the South needed soldiers at home to make sure things worked smoothly. Why should Jake and the others possibly spill their blood thousands of miles away from the bayous of the Confederacy fighting Germans and Scandinavians? Jake did not know the answer. He just wished people stopped thinking he was related to the late President Lee.

Jake adjusted his shoulder fringes and readied his rifle; Napoleon III and his officers were coming to inspect the troops. Jake could see the Imperial carriage pull up and a man in black, well-polished boots, blue coat, and a bizzare moustache-beard combo step out.

Jake thought there was nothing that looked like the first emperor, although, there was something about the man that seemed royal. The sunlight reflected off the emperor's medals and his troupe of officers tried to keep dirt away from his shoes. Jake grinned at the man's prissiness. For a warrior-emperor, he sure was a germaphobe.

"Attention les hommes!" shouted a French officer to the French infantrymen on the opposite side of the road. The French troops were on one side and the Confederates on the other. And on both sides, Spanish soldiers mixed in.

"Attention, men!" shouted a Confederate captain. Unsheathing his sword, the captain raised the blade to the brim of his gray hat in a salute to Napoleon.

Napoleon walked over to the Confederates, his officers basically threw themselves on the ground to prevent the dirtying of "His Imperial Majesty's" boots. Jake soon found himself directly in front of the emperor. "Gah," Jake thought, "Alcohol breath!" And Jake smelled the breath correctly. It appeared the emperor had been hitting the bottle recently.

"Oui, on va faire un cavalier bien!" Napoleon said, pointing at Jake. Jake started sweating bullets. What did that mean?

The captain started talking to "Lou" in a quiet voice. After a minute, the captain grabbed Jake's arm and guided him over to another squad. As the emperor and captain went about their buisiness, Jake turned to a soldier next to him, "What was that furriner talkin' about?"

The other man talked without moving his body or mouth, "You've been selected to be part of La Légion Impériale confédérés. The Imperial Confederate Legion is the place to be if you wanna see some fightin' on the front."

Jake started sweating even more, "Wha...what?! I don't wanna go to the front and kill people in a war I've nuthin' to do with!"

The soldier grinned, "Well, I heard we're leaving Calais to go to the fightin' tomorrow. I don't wanna fight for furriners either, but you and me were too young to have fought in the War fer Independence, so now we'll get a chance to fight!"

Jake just nodded and exhaled loudly. Once again, he asked himself "why?" For a poor country boy, life was about to become anything but boring.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jake pulled out his harmonica and started playing "The Bonnie Blue Flag." All over his camp, the song was heard. It made an odd combination with the French military anthems that the nearby French camp produced. It sounded even stranger with the Spanish guitar music that was in both camps. The main Spanish army had invaded Bavaria and Prussia a while back. The newspapers said that last Christmas, over 30,000 Spanish troops had been slaughtered in a large battle on the Frankfurt Front. That was not where Jake wanted to go, although it looked likely.

Another trooper piled into the tent; it was the trooper Jake had talked to earlier, "Howdy, neighbor! I'm Jeffy!"

Jake stopped playing his harmonica, "Oh, hey, how ya doin'?"

Jeffy pulled out a spoon and started eating a bowl of chicken soup, "Oh, doin' fine. Mighty fine harmonica playin', buddy. How ya like the camp? We've got some mighty fine boys here; they swear better than any men I've heard! Why, they use some curses I've never even heard before, not even from my granddaddy!"

Jake could tell the man was talkitive, but he didn't mind, "Thanks, Jeffy, I got this harmonica from my girl before I left. She says her daddy used it during the War. Yes, I like camp."

Jeffy threw the spoon up into the air and caught it after it twirled for a few seconds, "Oh, thanks a lot for reminding me of my girl. Why are we even here? Oh, well... So, how good a shot are you?"

"Well," said Jake, "I used to shoot a lot of squirrels and deers. We used to have the nicest dinners back home."

Jeffy talked in between big slurps of soup, his eyes shining, "I'll whup 'em, that's what I'll do! No prissy Prussian can lick me or any other man of the South. They goose-step 'round in their stupid pickel-whatchamacallits and act tough, but we'll bury them with their own shovels. If I get into battle, and you do too, stick with me; we'll make a good team."

Jake smiled and nodded, put his harmonica to his mouth, and started playing "Dixie."

Jeffy stared out the tent, looking at all of the coffee-drinking men around the camp fire. Suddenly, Jeffy started singing, and before long, many others in camp were too.

" Oh, I wish were in the land of cotton,

Good times there are not forgotten,

Look away, look away, Dixieland! "

The banjos were soon sounding all over the huge camp, completely shutting-up the French bands. Before long, French soldiers started wandering over to the Confederate camp. Some even sat down and chatted and sang with their Southern allies.

"Bonjour, les Américains!" greeted a French soldier who had been listening to Jake play, "Would you care for some whiskey? I noticed they don't allow it in your camp, but I have a spare bottle."

"Why, thank you, friend!" beemed Jeffy as he popped the cork off the bottle, "Whassyername?"

The Frenchman smiled and answered, "Pierre Leroy, at your service! I hope we become friends. It's nice meeting some of you Americans. One of my great-grandfathers fought with you people in the Revolution. He was at Yorktown during the surrender."

Jake became more alert, "Yorktown? Huh, my ancestor was there too! In fact, he was saved from being blown to bits from a cannonball when a Frenchman knocked 'im to safety."

Pierre's eyes widened, "What? My grandfather said his father saved an American named Joshua Lee at Yorktown! What's your name?"

Pierre adjusted his shako, "I'm equally stunned, monsieur! It's like we were meant to meet. You can bet I'll try to stick with you if possible. We can fight together to honor our ancestors!" Pierre pulled out three wooden cups from his pack and poured some wine into them, "Toast?" after the others nodded he said, "To victory!" The three clinked their cups together.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jake awoke to the sound of bugles. Grabbing his gear he went outside the tent and found Jeffy already gulping down a cup of water and falling in for inspection. Hurrying, Jake did the same. Their sergeant was one of the meanest men not already in Satan's firey pits, or so his men said. He wore his hair and beard long like a wildman and his voice sounded like someone who might up and die of over-smoking and excessive drinking. He was known for using the worst language one could possibly think of and he wouldn't tolerate the smallest detail being wrong. If a trooper had a missing button, the sergeant would "go ape," and start going on about how the only time he went without a button during the War was when he and his fellows were so under-supplied that they were eating tree bark and their horses. Once they finished that, they ate "saddles from the horses." No doubt, most of the information was some of the biggest lies told since Cain told God he did not know what happened to Abel, but there was no denying it, the Sarge was a good soldier. The men knew that he would sacrifice himself for one of his men... but that didn't stop them from complaining.

This time, Sarge was excited, so he payed less attention to details. He seemed to want to go to the front. He was in his fifties, but he still had it. When he did bayonet practice, he practically butchered the dummies. When he went to the target range, he used his Winchester 1866 to blast every target in sight. He was what some call a "dead-eye;" he never missed. In fact, Jake thought he could probably take Berlin single-handedly armed with a Bowie knife and a rifle.

Sarge paced back and forth in front of the line of troopers, "Well, men, I have good news! I know how y'all've been dying to get inta action, so, I'm here to announce that we're boardin' a train in the main city later, going to cross France, and participate in the final thrust to secure French control over Frankfurt. It'll be bloody, but I know y'all can't wait to kill some Krauts! Well, that's all...dismissed!"

Jake moaned and went with Jeffy to find Pierre. He was going to the Frankfurt Front, if he liked it or not...

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jake, Jeffy, and Pierre had a few hours to blow before they boarded the train. Pierre was a Calais native, so he treated his new-found friends to a tour of the city.

"Im'a gettin' hungry, Pierre. Where's the best place to eat around these parts?" Jeffy asked.

Pierre guided them to a fancy-looking restaraunt where they ordered pasta, French bread, cheese, and beer.

After their meal, the trio played poker. Jake won a few dollars and francs from the other two. Then, he went over to exchange them for francs only and bought a lemonade.

Jake sat on a stool next to a girl with black hair and a green dress, "Bonjour, American! You and your friends are helping this city out by coming to places like this. Do you like Calai?" She looked about seventeen, Jake's age.

"Hello! Yes, I like it here a lot," e responded. The two talked for a few minutes while Jeffy and Pierre played some more poker. Eventually, he started liking her quite a bit. That is, until he felt a gloved hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, he found himself staring down the nose of a very unhappy-looking French corporal in a white pith helmet.

"Que faites-vous, l'Amérique? What is the meaning of this? Que fais-tu avec lui, Lisa?" the man shouted in his foreign tongue.

Lisa brushed herself off and stared him down, "Ooh, like I try to hide it. You assume I like you simply because you come in here every day and I'm the only one who listen to you whine about how under-appreciated you are."

Jake suddenly pushed his nose against Charles's nose, "Looky here, monsieur Chuck, I'm from the South and in the South we have rules about how to treat women and girls. Pushing them ain't one of 'em!"

"Or what, Confederate ignoramus?" Charles asked spitefully.

Jake punched him in the mouth, "Oh, go jump in a cannon and light the fuse, Frenchie!" Flying through the air, Charles landed on a table, cracking it in half. Soon, people chose sides and started brawling. Jeffy and Pierre cracked their knuckles and went to work beating the stuffing out of the pro-Charles Frenchmen. The scene quickly deteriorated from a Calais restaraunt argument, to a Deseret saloon brawl. But fights in military towns were not uncommon, so plenty of military policemen were soon in the restaraunt, trying to break up the fight. After witnesses told who started the fight, the police cuffed Charles and put him in the prison wagon.

Jeffy walked over to where Jake was getting his arm bandaged by Lisa and a waiter, "Well, Jake, thanks for gettin' me warmed up to fight on the front! If Chuck had problems finding a wife before, they'll like 'im even less now that you smacked his front tooth out of his sorry mouth!"

After Jake agreed to write Lisa, he, Jeffy, and Pierre were off...to the Frankfurt Front.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Five weeks later...

The Imperial Confederate Legion and a few French units were making a final push to break the siege of Frankfurt and drive off the Prusso-Bavarian forces. Frankfurt had become a burnt out shell of a town, but it held out so far. If Jake's legion did not break through, though, they would probably have to pull out. In that case, the French were going to have to retreat back into their own country. If that happened, the Allies might lose the war.

Warfare had changed since the Civil War. Now, no one wanted to stand in neat rows and fire antique muskets at each other in a vain attempt to copy their ancestors. Now, weapons such as Winchesters and the Dublin Weapon Co.'s auto-fire cannon, much like a Gatling gun, although Gatling guns were never invented. Now, soldiers still marched in an orderly manner, but once the fighting began, anyone with common sense and a brain larger than a peanut tried to take cover. The rapid-fire rifles simply made standing in neat lines during battle suicide.

Jake readied his Colt revolver. He had spent all of his Winchester ammunition. Oh, well, he was a better shot with a pistol anyway. All around him lay maggot-ridden, bloating, stinking corpses of French, Spanish, and Germans. In some places, bodies were laying on top of each other up to five people high. Sappers were were moving bodies like dirt. The smell made everyone want to puke.

Pierre's regiment had been completely destroyed a week earlier and he had managed to tag along with the Confederate Legion. Right now, Jake, Jeffy, and Pierre were charging through the brush and woods outside Frankfurt with about 800 other French and Southerners.

"God help me, my guts are gone!" shrieked a nearby Legionaire. It was that kind of cry that gave Jake nightmares. As he ran, he saw another gruesome spectacle: a man with all of his arms gone. Somehow, the poor devil was still alive. Then he realized whose body lay next to the limbless man.

"Sarge!" yelled Jake as he and Jeffy scrambled over to the body.

"Nuthin' we can do," lamented Jeffy, "He's been dead for a while," Jeffy picked up Sarge's tag, "Hey, I never knew Sarge's full name...It's...uh...John...W....Booth. Hey! I ain't never thought about it, but if you think of 'im without his beard, he looks like an actor I saw perform in a play once. I think the name of the play was...My American Cousin. Oh, well, we'll have to write the poor fellow's family a letter," Jeffy stuck the tag, which included Sarge's address in Virginia. As the two rejoined the advance, they mentioned how the tag showed that Sarge was not in his fifties at all, he was actually only in his early thirties. Jake said he probably seemed older simply because of his hair and his voice. Who would have thought that a man with such a hoarse voice could have been an actor! He certainly could not have been a memorable one, anyhow.

Prussian Dreyse needle guns rang through the woods and Franco-Confederates went down in droves. The pressure soon became too much for the Southern flag-bearer who threw the flag up in the air and retreated.

With a cry of, "Can'tlettheflagtouchtheground," Jake grabbed it and found himself leading the advancing Allied infantry forces.

Prussian General von Bredow unleashd his cavalry forces upon the Allied left flank. Some fled, but most stood their ground and fought off the cavalry.

A lone Prussian rode out to try to reorganize the cavalry. Jake aimed his Colt...and fired. The man's boiled leather pickelhaube did no good at protecting him, and the bullet tore through the soft, mushy part of the man's body. As Jake neared the corpse, he recognized the man's face...General von Bredow. The Prussians saw their dead leader and fled. Jake was a war hero.

_________________LEGO Builder, Writer, Video-Gamer, Greaser, History Professor, Swordsman, and Military Collector. I am the Most Interesting Man in the World. :p

I like how you do maps for things too, it helps give a "fuller" picture.

I enjoy editing if you will, have done a lot for my oldest who loves to write too.

Yes, I love making maps. It really does make the story way more comprehendible.

Oh good! Perhaps you could tell me where I make spellin' errors and stuff like that?

Here is the latest addition!

CHAPTER NINETEEN

In the middle of March, Russia finally joined the Allies. What had prompted them to do so was Kaiser Wilhelm of Prussia finally accepting the establishment of a new German Empire, which was made up of all of the non-Austrian Germanic countries united under one banner. In the north, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland at last agreed to join Sweden and Norway to form a massive Scandinavian Empire. When Austria-Hungary switched sides and joined forces with the German and Scandinavian Empires, they formed the Scandinavian-Italio-Austro-German Alliance, otherwise known as the Quadruple Alliance. They had a few smaller allies, such as Albania and Bulgaria, but the Big Four were the major players.

When Russia invaded the Prussia, the Kaiser lashed out. Suffering grave defeats, the czar's army retreated to St. Petersburg. In mid-April, the Quadruple Alliance (minus Italy, since it was too far away to do much) invaded Russia in full force. Scandinavia executed Operation: Northern Lion, an invasion and liberation of Finland from Russian rule.

Scandinavia did not act alone; Germany invaded later in the month and grabbed up huge splotches of land. The two armies converged on St. Petersburg and continued the unmitigated Russian military disaster by capturing the city and driving the famed cossacks and the entire Russian army even deeper into the country.

In the south, the Austro-Hungarian army ventured deep into the Motherland, capturing city after city. They claimed that it was the first time an Austrian army had gotten into Asia. By the time Russia accepted defeat, the Russian soldiers they faced looked very much Oriental.

Facing total defeat, the czar agreed to a fairly favorable peace treaty. The Scandinavians kept all of what they captured while the Germans and Austrians agreed to keep only a comparably small amount. The reason for the fair peace is still debated by learned historians of the Great War. Many agree that it was probably due to the fact that Russia was simply too large to advance any further without severely damaging communication, and thus, making their armies completely clueless of the outside world. If they needed to be withdrawn because of some emergency in Europe, it would be far too long a distance to travel. The cruelty of General Winter likely also played a role in the Quadruple Alliance's minds.

In South America, Chile announced that it was joining the Quadruple Alliance. Brazil, France, and the CSA attacked and a long, bitter guerrila war ensued. The CSA played a much larger role in the South American theatre than in Europe at this point. The government in Richmond announced the declaration of total war and conducted mass-mobilization of the armed forces, the first time since the Civil War.

It seemed the entire world was blowing itself up. Britain was one of the few major countries that was not involved at this point.

Notice Corsica's independence. That may seem unlikely, but look at it this way: alternate history shows that if just one man had a longer or shorter life, it changes history. If one Corsican died young, he had the potential to lead an independence movement. Another example: what if Martin Luther King Jr. died at age 10 in an accident? Would history be different? Yes, it would.

_________________LEGO Builder, Writer, Video-Gamer, Greaser, History Professor, Swordsman, and Military Collector. I am the Most Interesting Man in the World. :p

During the month after Russia's defeat, Austria-Hungary invaded Romania and overthrew the government. To the west, Austian-backed Albania participated in a joint-invasion of Greece with Bulgaria. As a result, Greece's borders were dramatically reduced and the Quadruple Alliance gained even more power.

In Russia, the czar had Communists executed in the streets for fear of civil unrest. Eventually, the czar accepted some democratic reforms that allowed some religious freedom and lessened the control of the Orthodox Church, along with allowing better election systems and less choosing from the czar.

Off the coast of Italy, Corsican rebel leader Jaques Cardini finally convinced Italy to support his cause. On May 16th, Italian troops stormed the Corsican beaches and helped Cardini drive Napoleon's troops off of his famous uncle's home island. Furious, Napoleon invaded on May 28th and steamrolled toward the Corsican capital, Ajjacio. While he thought the Italians were weakening, they were really regrouping and preparing to drive Napoleon off again. When the French artillery had Ajjacio within range, thousands of Italian and Corsican troops charged out, wiping out the French army. Closing down the ports by use of the Italian navy, the Corsicans and Italians chased down the routing French and executed all of them. Cardini set himself up as president of the so-called Republic of Corsica. Italy tried to get him to join Italy, but he refused.

In the Middle East, the Ottoman-Persian-Indian war ended with Turkey in financial ruin. The Persians and Indians, satisfied that the Empire would not try anything in the near future, withdrew.

Many of the regions of Ottoman Turkey finally soaked in the Empire's weakness. Ever since the Balkan uprisings, Syria had wanted to seperate. In May, it became the first to break away. Turkey lacked the funds, manpower, and willpower to fight a prolonged conflict in Syria, so it weakly attempted to keep the Syrian capital under it's control. When the first Syrian troops attacked, a "battle" followed that left ten Turks dead and only two Syrian soldiers dead. The Turks fled the city. The Kingdom of Syria was now a recognized country. Lebanon followed Syria's example and set out on its own without any substantial resistance at all from Turkey.

Soon, Iraq declared independence. The Empire wanted to hold onto Mesopotamia, but was now basically cut in half. Major battles ensued with the Mesopotamians with Turkey appearing victorious. But, on June 10th, Syrian and Mesopotamian troops clashed with Turkey on the plains of Meggido. Meggido is where the we get the word Armageddon, and Meggido is credited with being the bloodiest area in the world. Over 20,000 Turks were killed in this climatic battle with a similar amount for the Syrians and rebels. If they were at a fraction of their former strength, the Empire would have accepted the casualties and sent in new divisions to wipe out any other resistance. But while the Empire was attempting to raise an imaginary "army" of 2,000 men to send in, Iraq built up a substantial armed force and the Turks stayed out for fear of another Meggido. The Republic of Iraq was not really as the name suggested; the country was under the control of Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa Selim, who was, for all practical reasons, a despot.

In Istanbul, the Turkish people had had enough. A mob stormed the sultan's palace and banished him to England. Setting up a rebublican government, the country changed its name, officially becoming Turkey. They elected an army officer named Mehmed Bey as President. The Ottoman Empire was no more.

Syria and Iraq joined the Quadruple Alliance and recieved shipments of supplies that were invaluable to their stability. Most of the shipments came from Turkey's old foe Austria-Hungary. The reason Syria and Iraq felt comfortable joining the Quadruple Alliance was that there was little chance of actually participating in any action. The only possible threat came from British India to the East and British North Africa to the South. But Britain was neutral and people thought it would stay that way.

But it was not to be. In July, Britain discovered that Egyptian rebels were being given weapons and supplies by Germany. Thus began the Cairo Affair. In Cairo, a German spy was discovered operating out of a restaraunt for British Soldiers. The spy was immediately shot by a firing squad. Over the next week, Britain went on a witchhunt to discover Quadruple Alliance spies. 20 were shot in five days in London.

On July 20th, Queen Victoria sent an ultimatum to the kaiser. It demanded that he publicly apologize for the espionage and immediately stop the weapons sales or face the consequences. Wilhelm declined and Britain declared war. Thus, the Arabian Front began with a two-pronged attack from North Africa and India. Redcoats soon had completely occupied Iraq, but Prime Minister Selim went into hiding to wage a guerrila war against Britain. The initial assaults from North Africa failed. The Egyptians rallied after this success and declared independence as the Sultanate of Egypt. A quasi-monarchic government ruled from Cairo, or rather, ruled from Cairo which was a puppet of Berlin.

After they withdrew from Russia, the Germans sailed across the Mediterranean Sea from Bulgaria to Egypt to reinforce the new government. It was then that the first blood was shed between the German and English armies. A Scottish army was sent to land in Syria. Clashing at Meggido, the Germans conducted a massive cavalry attack on the British. 10,000 German cavalrymen smashed into the redcoats and the fight continued for four hours until a stupidly thought-up counter-attack made the British army charge forward right into the muzzles of Dreyse needle guns and Krupp auto-fire cannons. Falling back, the British soldiers soon found themselves out in the desert without food, water, or supplies being picked-off by Arab snipers. For the moment, Egypt was somewhat stable, uniting to drive out their former colonial master.

Back in Britain, Ireland was in chaos. Dublin and its surrounding territory had declared itself the Republic of Dublin the last Christmas. England had tried force, but was not getting anywhere. Finally, the queen agreed to allow the bottom three-quarters to become the Republic of Ireland on the condition that the new country join the Allies. The Irish agreed and they broke off.

_________________LEGO Builder, Writer, Video-Gamer, Greaser, History Professor, Swordsman, and Military Collector. I am the Most Interesting Man in the World. :p

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum